Skip to main content

Patterns

             What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. (II Timothy 1:13-14)

          Worldview: a comprehensive conception or apprehension of the world, particularly from a specific standpoint. It represents the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society, encompassing their knowledge, culture, and point of view. Additionally, it can be described as a philosophy of the universe and humanity's relation to it (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, online.)

          A worldview is or includes one’s knowledge, culture, and point of view, and it is one’s philosophy of the universe and our relation to it. As such, it is indistinguishable from one’s religion. This does not mean that one’s worldview is (by definition) the same as the established doctrines of one’s faith, because even though people profess to believe all that their religion teaches, we tend to have some points where we’re not really comfortable saying, “Yep, that’s absolutely right!” Worldviews are ultimately individual.

          What’s more, a worldview is only as good as its correlation to reality. Using a ridiculous example, having a worldview that American Bison are fluffy cows with which you can safely take selfies is not likely to end well. Similarly, selfies with cute, cuddly bear cubs on a trail somewhere. Worldviews worthy of our acceptance stay as close to reality as possible. Since wisdom involves dealing with what’s really real, one’s goal should be to have a worldview that is wise.

          One of the challenges of worldviews is internal consistency. This is a point on which we need to be careful. Sometimes, people begin with their worldview or their presupposition and judge someone else’s statement as being wrong because it is not consistent with the people’s. Some people claim that a Christian worldview is inconsistent with the Bible if the Christian eats ham. Acts 10 and 15, and several of the Epistles make it clear that the Jewish Law was not and should not be imposed on the Gentile Church as a monolithic whole.

          That being said, in today’s passage Paul told Timothy to keep what his teaching as a pattern for sound teaching. What Paul taught was consistent with what Jesus taught, and what Jesus taught was consistent with the morality of the Old Testament, if not with the every exhaustive detail. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more